Dutch department store De Bijenkorf removes incorrect sustainability claims following an ACM action
                  

                
                                  






  







  



  
    
              
        
        
      
      
                        
          

Summary

Dutch department store De Bijenkorf has removed incorrect sustainability claims from its website following an ACM action.
De Bijenkorf used general and vague claims without sufficiently substantiating these.
ACM also conducts oversight over sustainability claims in other sectors.


  

  

    
      
          

      

  


                

  
    
            

Dutch department store De Bijenkorf has removed incorrect sustainability claims from its website. De Bijenkorf decided to do so after the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) had confronted the department store with those claims. De Bijenkorf used general and vague claims such as ‘Sustainable products’ (in Dutch: ‘duurzame producten’) and ‘Reduced environmental impact’ (in Dutch: ‘lagere milieu-impact’). In addition, it used a filter on its website called ‘sustainable selection’, without sufficiently substantiating this. The incorrect claims primarily concerned clothing and cosmetics. After ACM had confronted De Bijenkorf with these incorrect claims, De Bijenkorf took a detailed look at its claims, and removed the incorrect claims immediately.


Edwin van Houten, Director of ACM’s Consumer Department, comments: “We welcome businesses communicating about their sustainability efforts. However, they do need to be honest and clear about the contents of their sustainability claims, so that consumers are able to make more-sustainable choices. That’s why we confront businesses such as De Bijenkorf about the use of vague and general claims. Consumers can only rely on claims that are correct and easy-to-understand.”
Investigation into sustainability claims


In its investigation into sustainability claims this year, ACM focuses on the food sector and, more specifically, on coffee and cacao. In addition, ACM also conducts oversight over misleading sustainability claims in other sectors, on the basis of, among other aspects, the reports it receives.
Rules of thumb


Claims about sustainability need to be correct, clear, and complete. Businesses need to be able to factually substantiate the claims they make. This applies to all businesses that use sustainability claims. In order to offer businesses guidance regarding sustainability claims, ACM has published its Guidelines regarding Sustainability Claims, which contain five rules of thumb:

Use correct, clear, specific and complete sustainability claims.
Substantiate your sustainability claims with facts, and keep them up-to-date
Make fair comparisons with other products or competitors
Describe your future sustainability ambitions concretely and verifiably
Make sure that visual claims and labels are useful to consumers, not confusing.

ACM and sustainability


ACM ensures that markets work well for people and businesses, now and in the future. Sustainable products and sustainable consumption are essential for a future-ready society. ACM helps realize that through its oversight over sustainability claims of businesses. Consumers must be able to make more-sustainable choices with confidence.


Consumers are not the only ones that need to be protected against misleading sustainability claims. Businesses that make sustainability efforts must be protected against businesses that compete unfairly by using misleading claims.

      

    
          
                                          
                                  
                                      See also
                      
    

14-08-2025  ACM looks into sustainability claims in the coffee and cocoa sectors13-06-2023  Guidelines regarding Sustainability ClaimsFile a report with ACM ConsuWijzer (in Dutch)
            
                                  
                                
                  

                
          
          
          Publication characteristics
          
                                    
                Publication date
                11-09-2025
              
                      
                                    
                Publication type
                  News

              
                      

                      
              Spokesperson
              
                                    Dorith de Jong

                              
            
          
                                

          
                      

                                    
                Keywords
                  Sustainability,
  Online consumers

              
                      
                                    
                Subjects
                  Consumer protection,
  Digital economy

De Bijenkorf Corrects Sustainability Claims After ACM Intervention

Dutch department store De Bijenkorf has taken down incorrect sustainability claims from its website after being confronted by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). The store had used vague terms like 'Sustainable products' and 'Reduced environmental impact' without proper substantiation.

ACM's Director of Consumer Department, Edwin van Houten, emphasized the importance of honest communication regarding sustainability efforts, allowing consumers to make informed choices. The authority is also investigating sustainability claims in other sectors, particularly focusing on food items like coffee and cacao.

ACM has published guidelines to help businesses make accurate sustainability claims, which include ensuring claims are correct, clear, and substantiated with facts. The authority aims to protect both consumers and businesses from misleading claims in the market.



De Bijenkorf Corrects Sustainability Claims After ACM Intervention

Dutch department store De Bijenkorf has removed misleading sustainability claims from its website following action from the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM).